ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started investigation against twelve Islamabad-based private cooperative housing societies, a NAB spokesman said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press briefing, the official said most of the societies were genuine but they had not completed the required formalities.
He said very few private cooperative housing societies of the capital were fake or existed in the periphery of Rawalpindi and other districts.
The housing societies against which investigation is being carried out are: Airport Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Federal Employees Cooperative Housing Society, National Police Foundation Cooperative Housing Society, Quaid City Housing Project, Railway Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Revenue Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Lawyers Cooperative Housing Society, Veterans Cooperative Housing Society, Abad Cooperative Housing Society, Rail View Cooperative Housing Society, Christian Cooperative Housing Society and Semi-Overseas Cooperative Housing Society.
“Apparently these housing societies are genuine, therefore their members would be asked to fulfil all the requirements of the CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Cooperative Department (ICTCD),” he maintained.
He said NAB did not want to deal directly with these societies because if there were some irregularities, the bureau would take action against the CDA and the ICTCD.
Besides, the NAB has assigned assistant commissioner (city) in the ICT administration with the task to investigate against those housing societies which had grossly violated the CDA and ICTCD rules and some of them did not exist in Islamabad.
In this regard, he added, the assistant commissioner had started investigation against Islamabad Cooperative Housing Society, National Assembly Cooperative Housing Society, CBR Cooperative Employees Cooperative Housing Society, PARC Cooperative Housing Society, Government Officers Cooperative Housing Society, UGC Cooperative Housing Society and Work no Word Cooperative Housing Society.
He said NAB had directed the ICTCD in 2000 to streamline its working and regularly monitor the affairs of private housing societies.
In reply to a question about Bahria Town Housing Scheme, he said no case of the scheme was under investigation.
Meanwhile, a source in the CDA said the authority had so far failed to set any criteria to distinguish between fake and genuine housing societies.
The source said the CDA had never checked the affairs of housing societies, resulting in the emergence of fake societies.
“Before issuing a no-objection certificate to any private housing society, the CDA should ensure whether the society had ever been registered with the authority,” he said.
Similarly, the CDA should check whether the society had some land on which the housing scheme would be developed and if the society was short of the required land, the CDA should assist it in meeting the requirement, he said.
Another way to determine the genuineness of the society was to check its audit which should be held every year.
An office-bearer of a private housing society said that most of the housing societies wanted to complete their schemes but some fake housing societies were earning a bad name for the genuine ones.